5 Inspiring Success Stories Of Pinoys Who Challenged Their Fate

Filipinos are known to be hardworking and resilient. Some choose to take care their family to bring food to the table. Some go the extra mile and take up multiple jobs.

Withstanding the challenges of life and daily battles to fight poverty, many of our fellow Filipinos go above and beyond survival. Below are some stories that prove perseverance and hard work pave the way for fulfilled dreams.

From security guard to certified lawyer

Roy Lawagan was a security guard at Commission on Audit Office in LA Trinidad, Benguet. He studied criminology at University of Baguio and successfully finished his law degree at Saint Louis University along with 1,731 lawyers.

inquirer.net

While his wife was pregnant with their now-four-year-old daughter, he was also attending night classes on his first year at law school. He didn’t make the cut at his first attempt during the 2014 bar exams. This, despite enrolling to a review center.

So he parried up and reviewed on his own for the November 2015 bar exams and aced it.

Honest cab driver gets scholarship grant

Taxi driver Reggie Cabututan was rewarded a one-in-a-million opportunity when he returned a luggage of Australian businessman Trent Shields. The luggage contained important belongings such as documents, gadgets, and cash.

Ace Estrada II

Shields was in a hurry when he alighted the cab to Calle Uno Coworking Space in Quezon Hill at Baguio City and left an estimated P1 million worth of items.

Cabututan was awarded a scholarship grant worth P220,000 from the Vivixx Academy and Coder Factory for a six-month coding booth camp this coming June 2017.

He was also guaranteed a slot for an internship that could land him a job with a starting salary of P1.7 million.

Former domestic helper now a critically acclaimed photographer

Xyza Cruz Bacani facebook page

Twenty-year-old Xyza Cruz Bacani flew to Hong Kong nine years ago along with thousands of Filipino employees to work as maids. Her goal back then was to fund her brother’s education.

Her passion for photography was given a chance four years ago when her employer lent her some money to buy a Nikon D90, her first camera.

It was her mission to use her passion to raise awareness on abuse as she witnessed and documented violence in the country.

Fast Personal Loan approval

She caught the attention of a San Francisco-based Filipino photographer, who saw her photos on social media. International publications, among them the New York Times Lens blog, started featuring her work.

She then became a recipient of a fellowship by the Magnum Foundation, a prestigious scholarship to study for six weeks in New York.

Street vendor turned millionaire skincare magnate

Filipinas are very particular with skincare routines—and Leonora Lim capitalized on that opportunity. Teaming up with her daughter Mercedita Lim, a licensed pharmacist who formulated a type of astringent during the ’90s, she repacked skincare products and sold them door-to-door.

ABS-CBN

This small-time sideline has grown into a lucrative business and became the skincare staple RDL. Last year, RDL Pharmaceuticals Laboratory Inc. signed a business partnership with an Indonesian firm.

Janitor thrived passing the 2016 bar exam

Ramil Comendador may seem like an ordinary guy working at the Malabon Commission on Elections (Comelec) as a janitor. Unbeknownst to his colleagues, he had been going to law school for five years at the Universidad de Manila.

rappler.com

Aside from pursuing his studies, he was supporting his wife and two children in Bicol. “Gusto ko lang pong sabihin sa kanila na kaya po nating putulin ang cycle ng kahirapan. Magsumikap lang. Huwag isiping mahirap,” he said in one interview.

About the author

Diana Lyn Balbalosa Before joining eCompareMo as content writer, Diana wrote a lot of academic research, as well as articles on home improvement, lifestyle, and financial management. She's currently working on expanding her book and hair dye collection.

Access your Account

Social Media Login

Account Login

Call Schedule

Please fill in your contact details and eCompareMo's customer service will get back to you, at your preferred appointment time.

Consent for storing personal data:

I allow eCompareMo to collect, store and process my personal information - including but not limited to my name, address, phone number, email, etc., as supplied for transactions on this website. Transactions may include cookie placement, personalized offers, enrollment in its newsletter and others. The use and processing of my information shall be in accordance with applicable laws and eCompareMo’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, which I confirm to have read and understood. I also authorize the bank to share with eCompareMo the status of my application, final credit decision and details of the account, if approved.

Thank you

Within 24 hours, an eCompareMo customer service specialist will contact you from the number you provided. Please answer our call so we can complete information requirements necessary to process your application.